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If you paid your software developer under a 1099 and you don’t have a bill or receipt specifically stating that ownership of the software belongs to you or your company…You DON’T own the software (source code). You also want to be certain that the document ownership language includes any changes or upgrades that are automatically included in your ownership.
If you paid the developer with a W-2, he is your employee, and you do own the software (source code). No written agreement is necessary, but you should have a confidentiality agreement. I would also have a contract specifying that you own the software if he later claims he developed it after leaving the company or tries to peddle it to a competitor.
Copyright belongs to the developer or programmer unless copyright ownership is specifically sold to you in writing. All independent software developers and programmers “know” this information. If they didn’t disclose it to you – it was deliberate. If your software is a major investment for you, I recommend having your attorney write up the agreements.
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